Transaction Terminology

Transaction Terminology

DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT- This transaction allows a club to open a roster spot for up to a 10-day period while waiting for a player to clear waivers, after which he must be released, traded, or assigned the minor leagues.

MAJOR LEAGUE REHABILITATION- A major league player may be assigned to a minor league affiliate for the purpose of injury rehabilitation for a maximum of 20 days for non-pitchers and 30 days for pitchers. The player continues to receive his major league salary while on rehab assignment. Any service with the minor league club shall be deemed major league service. Rehabilitation assignments do not count as optional assignments nor do they count against the minor league affiliate's active roster.

DISABLED LIST- Players placed on the minor league disabled list (DL) must remain on the list for a minimum of seven consecutive days. Players on the disabled list do not count toward a team's roster limit. Placement on the disabled list may be retroactive two days provided said player has not appeared in a game during that timeframe.

OPTIONS- When a player is on the 40-man roster and in the minor leagues, he is on "optional assignment." Players have three option years and can be sent up and down as many times as the club chooses within those seasons but will only be charged with one option per season. When a player is "out of options", he will have to clear irrevocable waivers in order to be removed from the 40-man roster and sent to the minor leagues.

RECALLED VS. CONTRACT PURCHASED- If a player is on the 40-man roster, he is "recalled." If not, then his "contract is purchased" from the minor league team. A player must be added to the 40-man roster when his contract is purchased.

RESTRICTED LIST- The Restricted List is used for many resons. A team can request that a player be placed on the restricted list if that player has left the team without a valid reason, or has announced his intention to retire but is still of an age or level of skill that could allow him to return to professional baseball in the future. In effect, the team states that it retains rights to the player if and when he becomes active again.

A player on the restricted list cannot be signed by another team unless compensation is paid to the team who placed him on the list. The list is honored throughout organized baseball and in leagues that have working agreements to respect the contracts of organized baseball, such as Nippon Pro Baseball. The list is most often used today when a player retires at a young age without receiving his unconditional release. If he decides to return to playing, he must do so with his last team, unless a trade or other deal can be worked out.

ROSTER LIMITS- Class AA rosters are limited to 24 active players throughout the entire playing season. Major league rehabilitation players as well as players on the disabled list, restricted list, suspended list, or inactive list do not count against the 24-man active limit.Class AA teams are limited to carrying eight non-active players.

RULE 5 DRAFT- A player not on the 40-man roster is eligible to be claimed by the Rule 5 Draft if:

The player was 18 or younger when he first signed a pro contract and this is the fourth Rule 5 draft since he signed

He was 19 or older when he first signed a pro contract and this is the third Rule 5 draft since he signed.

SUSPENDED LIST- A player placed on the suspended list has been suspended for any number of reasons by their organization or league.

TEMPORARY INACTIVE LIST- This list is used only during the season for short absences and may be used at the team's discretion for bereavement leave, family events which require a player to be away from his team, or other non-injury related reasons.. Players placed on the temporary inactive list must remain on the list for a minimum of three consecutive days.

WAIVERS- If a player placed on major league waivers is not claimed by another team within two business days after waivers have been requested, then the player has "cleared waivers" and the team has secured waivers for the remainder of the waiver period. The team can do one of three things:

Send him to the minors

Trade him to another team, even if the trading deadline has passed

Do nothing at all

Note: Any trades involving a 40-man roster player (July 31 through the end of the regular season) may only involve players who have cleared major league waivers. If a player does not clear waivers (claimed by another team or teams), the club requesting waivers may withdraw the waiver request. If the club does not withdraw the waiver request, the player's contract is assigned as follows:

If only one claim is entered, the player's contract is assigned to that claiming club.

If more than one club in the same league makes claims, the club currently lower in the standings gets the player.

If clubs in both leagues claim the player, preference shall always go to the club in the same league as the club requesting waivers.